Thursday, July 26, 2007

NBC will try a new approach to selling its critically-acclaimed but low-rated character drama "Friday Night Lights" and it may involve sex, murder, adultery and Rosie O'Donnell.

Former NBC's president Kevin Reilly was a huge supporter of the Texas-set series based on the same-titled 2004 Peter Berg movie. That is why FNL made it to its sophomore year despite pulling in an average audience of only 5,8 million people.

But with Reilly out of Peacock and at the helm of entertainment programming at FOX, doubts have been cast over the future of the football drama as many believe NBC's new president Ben Silverman may swing the axe a lot faster.

According to the network, Mr. Silverman is fully behind the drama (at least for the time being) and to prove that the network has devised a new strategy to lure viewers they believe may be missing out on FNL - women.

For this reason, Ben Silverman wants the producers to bring the sexy back and allegedly a gratuitous locker-room shower scene will be just the beginning as those teens with raging hormones explore their sexuality.

Also, a very dramatic event, possibly a murder, tied to last year's attempted raping of Tyra will bring her and Landry together in a very intimate way. He may come to her rescue, but what will be consequences?

TV Guide has also revealed that one of the show's big couples will call it quits. Although there will be very little football on screen this year, we will see how The Panthers deal with the new coach.

That means Kyle Chandler's character Eric will be away on his new college coaching job and he and his wife Tami Taylor (the amazing Connie Britton) will have to deal with living apart just as she is about to give birth to their second child.

NBC is also in talks with Rosie O'Donnell to bring her on board for at least one episode as a funny female soccer coach who is really angry about all of the school's resources going to football.

Finally, NBC will conduct at least 1000 FNL viewing parties in August coinciding with the release of the first season on DVD. A marketing campaign is expected to use the words "sex," "murder," "adultery" and "humour."

Although I obviously believe this approach may ultimately alienate a number of more conservative FNL viewers who would find seeing more sex, adultery and Rosie O'Donnell offensive, I think the question here is - can the number of new viewers this strategy brings in be higher than the number of old fans who stop watching? I certainly hope so.